UN chief condemns rocket attacks on Israel

NEWYORK – United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday condemned Gaza rocket attacks on Israel and called on both sides of the conflict to halt their aggressions.

Ban "reiterates his call on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further civilian casualties and overall destabilization," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He added that Ban "condemns the recent multiple rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza" and that "these indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas must stop."

Israeli strikes on Gaza Tuesday killed 15 people and wounded around 100, the emergency services said, as the military began an aerial campaign against militants in the Strip. Army figures showed that militants fired 130 rockets at southern Israel since midnight without causing any casualties, while the air force struck 150 terror targets in Gaza.